Tread Lightly
by IShouldBeWriting
Summary: Becker finally knows that he wants Jess in his life forever.  He's setting out to do something about that, but as Shakespeare said, "the course of true love never did run smoothly".  The next piece of "Breakable"  yes finally  following "Lose Yourself"


Author's Note: Sorry that it's taken me so terribly long to put up a new chapter of this series. I had a case of writer's block, stress and anxiety in life got in the way, and I needed some time to decompress and get back to it.

The good news is: **I'm BACK!**

The even better news is that in the intervening couple weeks, I've sprouted a new series idea. The new series is called "Travelers" and currently has 3 pieces in it. Go check my profile page for the master list.

I'll also put in a plug for my co-authored Primeval urban fantast project with LJ's morrigans_eve. We're still putting up new chapters every Wednesday. Due to rating concerns, that project can be publicly found at **invisible_trace dot livejournal dot com**.

That said, like every other writer, I thrive on feedback, so please, leave me a review if you've paid me a visit?

~~oOOo~~

"_Open your heart, find your voice, and tread lightly!"_

- Anne Dickson

~~oOOo~~

By the fourth time Becker found inconsequential reasons to speak to her privately, Abby knew there was something more to it than the obvious. The conversations had been unlike any of their previous interactions, halting and awkward in a way that was completely at odds with the normally precise and direct nature of the man. Abby couldn't help but be puzzled and a bit curious. When he stopped by the menagerie at feeding time she pressed him into service helping her with the task in an effort to prolong the conversation, hoping she'd be able to draw out of him whatever it was that he'd been attempting to bring up with her in conversation earlier.

Abby's attempts at conversation had stuttered as she was met with short, pre-occupied replies. After a couple minutes of companionable silence had passed, Becker gave up his pretence at feeding the diictodons to come stand beside her where she was handing over halved melons to the mammoth.

"When Jess was still in hospital, you asked me what it would take for me to let go of the proverbial armour I wear, to truly let her in rather than breaking her heart. Feel free not to answer but I have to ask; Abby, what did it take for you?"

The question caught her off guard. While he had always been thoughtful, talk of emotions had always seemed to unsettle the young captain. But looking at the serious but genuine expression on his face, Abby knew that this was important. She wasn't sure yet where he was going with the question, but it deserved as honest an answer as she could provide.

"Did you ever notice how many of your fellow soldiers had life-changing realizations about themselves while stationed in war zones?" Becker nodded a silent assent so Abby continued onward.

"Being stuck in the past with only one other human being was rather similar I imagine. For both Connor and I, the experience stripped away the things that were unnecessary. We didn't have the luxury of having petty rows just to put some distance between us when we became uncomfortable with how emotionally attached we'd become. Yeah, there were times when we got on each other's nerves, but that's different than picking a fight because you woke up one morning and realized that the particular smell of someone else's body pressed beside yours was the only source of comfort you truly need. When you've no longer have the space hide from that sort of realization, the reasons you were hiding become irrelevant."

Becker watched Abby thoughtfully for a few moments as the mammoth deftly scooped an orange out of the palm of her hand with its trunk. He sliced open the ties on a bale of dried grass for her but she could tell that his mind was still occupied in consideration of her answer. Abby waited, bemused that she could do so given patience was yet another trait she'd learned during her time in the Cretaceous.

Finally, he looked up at her and said quietly, "I've a favour to ask of you, Abby."

"Ask away," she replied, trying to keep her tone neutral since she was still uncertain where he was going with this conversation.

"I-" Becker hesitated, drawing and expelling a deep steadying breath before trying again, "I need you to help me find out what size ring Jess wears and get in touch with her mum."

Once the words were out of his mouth, he seemed completely unable to look her in the eye. Abby would have laughed at the incongruity of it if she hadn't been certain that doing so would have sent Becker tearing off without any further discussion.

"You're going to propose to her, aren't you?" Abby asked carefully, looking for confirmation that she'd drawn the correct conclusion.

Still unwilling to look at her, Becker simply nodded.

"She has a video chat with her mum every week and her address book is on her computer. If it's alright with you, we could get Connor to break into her computer to get an address and whatever contact info is associated with their video chats."

"Thank you, though I think just a postal address would do. I'm not particularly keen on calling to introduce myself in the first place. Doing so and then immediately asking permission to marry her daughter seems like it'd just be too much. For heaven's sake though, do ask Connor to keep quiet about this," he grimaced.

"As for her ring size, I'm sure I can come up with a way to get that," Abby's impish grin led Becker to wonder if enlisting her aid in his plans had truly been wise.

~~oOOo~~

It'd been three days since Abby's awkward conversation with Becker in the menagerie. Abby had been intensely grateful that Jess was out of the flat when she'd brought up the conversation with Connor. He'd roared with laughter until tears were streaming down his cheeks at the thought of Becker the discomfited bridegroom-to-be. In the end though, he'd been willing to apply his considerable hacking skills to retrieving a single address of one Charlotte Parker from Jess' address book. Abby carefully wrote down the address on a card and slipped it into her wallet. As soon as she'd had the opportunity to retrieve Jess' ring size, she'd hand it over to Becker and let the chips fall where they were cast.

~~oOOo~~

"It's Friday, Jess, why don't we do take-away and a movie tonight? You can even invite soldier boy to come along," Abby suggested as they were packing up their personal belongings in the staff room.

"That'd be lovely," Jess sighed.

The field coordinator had been through another session of physiotherapy earlier in the afternoon and Abby knew it tended to leave Jess fairly knackered.

"Why don't you finish packing up and I'll go collect the boys," Abby offered kindly.

"Sounds like a plan with a hat," Jess replied.

Head still hiding inside her locker, Jess didn't see the gleam in Abby's eye.

Making her way up to the armoury, Abby was almost skipping with delight. She poked her head around the doorway to find Becker was not alone. He was checking off inventory with the night duty officer.

"Oi, Becks, we're doing take-away and a movie, want to join in?" she asked.

"No thanks, Abby," Becker tossed over his shoulder at her with a scowl.

"Oh, but I think you do want to come. Remember? There's a certain something we were talking about earlier this week which you said you needed to retrieve from our flat?"

Becker looked up, puzzled. As soon as he caught sight of the shit-eating grin on Abby's face, it all came rushing back to him as color flooded his cheeks. Abby smiles inwardly, this would all be worth it if for nothing else than having discomfited the normally unflappable captain.

"Right, I'd completely forgotten, about that, um, thing. Lieutenant, let's get this finished up. Abby, I'll meet you there shortly."

Clearly hearing the dismissal for what it was, Abby sprinted up 2 more floors to Connor's lab. He was deeply engrossed in another one of Phillip's endless stream of projects but as soon as she told him what she was planning, he packed up and shut down his computer grinning like a maniac all the while.

~~oOOo~~

Becker arrived at the flat just as Connor and Jess were getting into their car.

"I thought Abby said-" he trailed off in confusion.

"Abs is inside, go on," Connor replied hurriedly as he helped Jess into the car. "We're just off to pick up dinner. Back in a bit."

Before Becker had time to respond, Connor's little blue Volkswagon had pulled away from the curb. He shrugged, opened the door to their building and rang the bell for their flat.

As soon as he reached the doorway, Abby pulled him inside and began to take his coat.

"Come on, we don't have much time. Connor convinced Jess to go with him to stretch her leg, but picking up the take-away won't be that much of a trip."

Coat disposed of, Abby pulled him toward Jess' room at which point Becker finally understood the reason for her haste. Once inside, Abby went straight for the top drawer of Jess' dressing table. As expected, it was neatly organized with jewelry carefully stored in little compartments. Sifting carefully through them, Abby found the one that contained rings and pulled it out. They looked over the selection critically, Abby offering running commentary as they went.

"No, I've never seen her wear that one so there's no way of knowing if it fits. She loves this one, wears it all the time. She'd notice if it was missing…"

Reaching past her, Becker pulled out a plain, wide, domed, band of gold. It was entirely the wrong size compared to the rest of the rings, which was why it had caught his attention. Lifting it out of the box, he noticed engraving on the inside of the band. Two sets of initials and a date. His eyes went wide as he hastily put the ring back into the box. Thankfully, Abby hadn't noticed, having found what she was looking for.

"This one," she said as she placed a silver ring in the palm of his hand. "I know I've seen her wear it, on the right finger even. But she doesn't wear it so often that she'll notice its absence.

The ring in question had a deep red stone set in the center and by carved flowers on either side. Thinking about it, Becker was sure he'd seen it on Jess' hand before, but he couldn't recall seeing it recently. He nodded and slipped it into the pocket of his trousers while Abby put away the box and closed the drawer.

Back in the lounge, Abby fished a card out of her jacket pocket and handed it to him as well.

"Her mum's address in Japan. I think it's actually the consulate's address?"

Becker smiled gratefully, "that ought to save some time; I can probably slip the letter into the diplomatic pouch which will get it there much faster than regular international post."

"Right, then. You should be able to have your answer back in no time at all!"

Becker looked at her uncertainly.

"Have you and Connor ever, you know, talked about it?"

"What? Marriage?"

He nodded.

"Not since before the Cretaceous. After that experience, I don't think either of us feels the need for papers to prove what we are to each other. Though we did both have some legal documents drawn up and filed in case either of us is seriously hurt or killed. Lester knows about it. Didn't feel the need to tell anyone else."

Something about the casual comfort implied by Abby's statement left him feeling unsettled. Why did he feel such a driving need for the formality of marriage? What was it about Jess that made him want to shout their commitment to each other to the world? He shook his head to clear away the lingering maudlin. Jess and Connor would be back shortly and he was looking forward to a quiet evening in the company of people whom he was surprised to finally find himself considering to be his friends.

~~oOOo~~

"Anybody can sympathise with the sufferings of a friend, but it requires a very fine nature to sympathise with a friend's success."

- Oscar Wilde


End file.
